Heartland Alliance Health To Remain Open, Thanks To Donation

Cook County Commissioner Stanley Moore connected One Health Centers with Heartland Alliance Health. Photo provided by Cook County Commissioner Stanley Moore.
Cook County Commissioner Stanley Moore connected One Health Centers with Heartland Alliance Health. Photo provided by Cook County Commissioner Stanley Moore.

Heartland Alliance Health To Remain Open, Thanks To Donation

By Tia Carol Jones

Heartland Alliance Health has received a donation from One Health Centers, which will keep the two community health centers and three pantries open.

In early February, Heartland Alliance Health announced that it would be closing, due to financial challenges. Heartland Alliance Health was separated from Heartland Alliance in 2024, when the organization decided to spin-off its subsidiaries, including Heartland Alliance Health. The exact amount of the donation is private, but it is a significant investment that will ensure Heartland Alliance Health has stability and success in the long-term.

Cook County Commissioner Stanley Moore said when he heard that Heartland Alliance Health was closing, he was devastated that the community would be losing another clinic which was providing essential services. He said that community health clinics are essential because they are easily accessible to residents, because of their location, and because they are open at more inclusive hours.

 Also, Heartland Alliance Health remained open during the COVID-19 pandemic to help patients. He said that, oftentimes, people will show up at the emergency room to receive care, which can sometimes cost twice as much as it would if they would receive care on a regular basis at a health care clinic or hospital in a doctor’s office.

“With those types of health care clinics in the community providing service, it lowers the amount of people who show up in our emergency rooms, at lower the cost,” Moore said.

Moore works with a young man who is experiencing homelessness off and on for more than a decade, and Heartland Alliance Health is one of the only agencies in the city that helps people who are experiencing homelessness.

When it was first announced that Heartland Alliance Health was closing, more than 100 people – doctors, nurses, practitioners, dentists, assistants, clerical staff and security – received layoff notices. With the donation, nearly 115 employees from the two health clinics and three food pantries jobs were saved. Moore said during an announcement at the end of February about the donation from One Health Centers to Heartland Alliance Health, there were people crying because they wouldn’t lose their jobs. 

Moore was introduced to One Health Centers previously. He was able to connect Heartland Alliance Health with One Health Centers. It is something that Moore is proud to say he was able to do.

“This partnership is about more than keeping the doors open — it’s about strengthening Heartland Alliance Health for the future,” Mary Kay Gilbert, Interim Executive Director of Heartland Alliance Health, said in a press release. “One Health Centers is providing the immediate financial support we need while also becoming a long-term collaborator, helping us improve operations and expand our impact.”

“We’ve seen firsthand in Michigan how vital community health centers are to the well-being of a city,” Ammar Tank, President, One Health Centers, said in a press release. “Heartland Alliance Health has an incredible legacy of providing compassionate, high-quality care to those who need it most, and we are honored to step in with a donation to ensure that the legacy continues.”


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